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Home security company ranks Sherwood 'safest city in Oregon'

SafeWise placed Sherwood at the top of its annual list, which ranks cities using FBI crime statistics.

Sherwood placed first in an annual list that uses FBI crime statistics to determine the safest cities in each state.

The list is published by SafeWise, a website that compiles reviews of different home security systems. SafeWise uses statistics that are reported by local police departments to the FBI each year, and population data, to find the cities with the lowest rates of reported violent crime per capita.

According to SafeWise, about six percent of reported crimes in Sherwood are violent — that includes aggravated assault, murder, rape and robbery — while 94 percent of reported crimes are property crimes, including burglary, arson and motor vehicle theft.

"Sherwood is a great community in many different ways, but I always hear from residents and businesses that the fact it is a safe community is paramount," said City Manager Joe Gall after the list was released on Tuesday, June 4. "It really takes an entire community working together to achieve such a top ranked distinction, from our individual citizens, numerous community partners and members of our awesome Police Department. It just doesn't happen."

While the data SafeWise uses from the FBI is credible, a spokeswoman from the FBI noted that the Bureau cautions against using that data to create lists or rankings, citing language that appears on the FBI's website:

"Comparisons lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting communities and their residents."

With that in mind, here's a look at the full list of Oregon's 20 safest cities, according to SafeWise: